Laying arm for wire coiling device



Aug. 22, 1961 G. MEINSHAUSEN 2,997,249

LAYING ARM FOR WIRE COILING DEVICE Filed March 13, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Inventor:

crflrd finunfaus 2 M Aug. 22, 1961 G. MEINSHAUSEN LAYING ARM FOR WIRECOILING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 13, 1958 3/9" lyenh UnitedStates Patent 2,997,249 LAYING AiRM FOR WIRE COILING DEVICE GerhardMeinshausen, 'Rheinhausen, Germany, assignor to Huttenwerk RheinhausenAktiengesellschaft, ERheinhausen, Germany Filed Mar. 13, 1958, Ser. No.721,152 1 Claim. (Cl. 242-82) The invention relates to a wire coilingdevice in which the wire emerging from a train of rolls is fed axiallyof the device into one end of a curved laying arm constituting a guidefor the wire and from the other end of which the wire is delivered forcoiling. The peripheral speed of the laying arm at its exit endcorresponds at least approximately to the speed of entry of the wire andtherefore of its travel through the laying arm.

As the result of the rotation of the laying arm, the wire therein ispressed against its wall so that there is friction on passage of thewire between the wire and said wall, the friction increasing with thespeed of rotation of the laying arm. This can easily lead to compressionof the wire within the laying arm, with the result that its front endbecomes bent and blocks the passage for the wire, which can causeserious delays in production.

If the entering end of thewire becomes bent and causes a stoppage, thesupply of Wire from the roll train must first of all be interrupted andthis is usually effected by a rotary knife, generally automaticallyoperated, which cuts the wire emerging from the rolls into lengthswhich,

can be handled. The piece of wire left in the guides and the laying armmust then be withdrawn and cut or coiled. Coiling is thereforeinterrupted at least during the performance of these operations, whichrequire considerable effort and time.

The speed of revolution of the laying arm is higher, the thinner thewire to be coiled. As the acceleration forces in the coiler increaserapidly with increasing rotational speed and the stiffness of the wiredecreases rapidly with the reduction in its diameter, the possibility ofcoiling thin wires at high speeds is limited by the friction of the wirein the laying arm. This frictional resistance is decisive in regard tothe entering end of the wire.

In the known laying mechanisms there is, moreover, rapid wear of thelaying arm as the result of the friction between it and the wire, whichinvolves costs for replacement of the laying arm and also loss ofproduction.

The object of the invention is to provide a laying mechanism whichavoids the above disadvantages by arranging that the center line of thelaying arm deviates initially from the direction of the axis of rotationby a desired and predetermined angle 6 and thereafter follows such acurved path that the radial distance of the individual points of thecenter line from the axis of rotation does not depart by more than 0.1rfrom a threedimensional curve which fulfils the conditions:

and

M 2R S111 ,8r sin a where r is the radial distance of any desired pointof the threedimensional curve from the axis of rotation,

R is the mean radius of the coil of wire,

on is the angle between the tangent at any desired point on theprojection of the three-dimensional curve on a plane perpendicular tothe axis of rotation and the perpendicular from this point to the axisof rotation,

ice

B is the angle between the axis of rotation and the tangent at anydesired point on the projection of the threedimensional curve on a planeparallel to the axis of rotation, andv tangential to thethree-dimensional curve I at the point P,

r, is the radius of curvature at any desired point of the projection ofthe three-dimensional curve on a plane perpendicular to axis ofrotation, and

r,, isthe radius of curvature at any desired point of the projection ofthe three-dimensional curve on a plane parallel to the axis of rotationand tangential to the three-dimensional curve.

. As in known wire coilers the laying armis initially bent at adesiredangle determined by the relation between the constructionalheight of the laying arm and the mean radius of the coil. Then follows,according to the invention, shaping of the laying arm according to theabove mentioned curved path of its center line. The wire, particularlyits entering end, can fOllO'W in the laying armv a path such that it issubject to no forces, pressing it against the inner wall of the layingarm, if this path corresponds to the above-mentioned threedimensionalcurve which, starting from a given initial angle hereinafter termed Band a given mean radius R of the coil of wire, can be calculatedaccurately and without regard to the speed of the coiler. If the layingarm is shaped such that its center line does not depart from thethree-dimensional curve so calculated by more than mentioned above ithas been found in practice that the forces then pressing the wireagainst the inner wall of the laying arm remain within reasonablelimits.

Due to the almost complete avoidance of frictional forces, the apparatusaccording to the invention has the further advantage that very highcoiling speeds can be used. These in the case of thin wires can greatlyexceed the speeds hitherto possible. It may also be mentioned that thegravitational force of the wire in the laying arm is vanishingly smallin comparison with the other forces acting during rotation of the layingarm, in particular the centrifugal force, and can therefore beneglected.

In the accompanying drawings is shown an embodiment of the inventionapplied to a so-cal-led Edenborn wire coiling device provided with alaying arm constituting a guide channel for the wire. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows the coiling device, in side elevation,

partly in section,

FIG. 2 shows part of the coiling device on a smaller scale, seen lookingin the direction of the arrow X in FIG, 1,

FIG. 3 is an elevation of the three-dimensional curve required for thelaying arm according to the invention, and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the three-dimensional curve.

The wire 1 emerging egg. from a rolling mill passes through a tubularguide 2 into a tubular laying arm 3. The upper part of the tube 3 isrectilinear and extends in a direction perpendicular to the upper crossmember 4a of a frame 4. Fixedly mounted on the tube 3 is a gear wheel 5meshing with a pinion 6. The pinion is fixed to the shaft of a motor 7also mounted on the cross member 4a.

The lower part of the tube 3 is so bent that the wire fed through thetube and emerging at its lower end is laid in a circular path to form acoil. A basket 8 is provided in the frame 4 beneath the tube 3 toreceive this coil, its bottom being circular and constituted by foursectors 8a pivoted on horizontal axes. These sectors are arranged asshown in FIG. 2 and each is fastened to a shaft 9 journalled in theframe 4. The four shafts form a square and are connected by bevel gears10. One of the shafts extends beyond the bevel gears and carries a gearwheel 11 which can be driven from a suitable source, so that afterformation of a coil of wire the sectors 8a can be 3 moved simultaneouslydownwards. Beneath the basket runs an endless band 12, which receivesthe coils of wire and transports them slowly, for the purpose of slowcooling, to a place of storage.

The curve shown in FIG. 3 is an elevation of a threedimensional curve,representing the curvature of the tube 3, projected on to a planeparallel to the axis of rotation of the tube. This plane touches thethreedimensional curve at the point P. The height of thethree-dimensional curve is represented by H in FIG. 3. The angle ,8 isthe starting angle of the three-dimensional curve and it thereafterfollows a direction dependent on the desired relation between the heightH and the diameter, 2R, of the coil of wire. After determination of theangle 3 and the initial deviation from this angle, the calculation ofthe three-dimensional curve is commenced at the point A which lies onthe axis of rotation. The curve shown in dash lines in FIG. 3 is thedevelopment of the three-dimensional curve in a plane parallel to theaxis of rotation. This development and the projection, shown in FIG. 4,of the three-dimensional curve on a plane perpendicular to the axis ofrotation are next drawn. Taking the initial values #3 u=0 and r=0, theradii of curvature r, and r are calculated for the point A of thethree-dimensional curve from the appropriate equations. The initial partof the three-dimensional curve can then be drawn.

The values for the radii of curvature for the next curved portion areobtained from the values of B, 0: and r at the end of the first portionof the curve. Care should however be taken that the distance of thedesired point P of the three-dimensional curve from the axis of rotationin the development, which is indicated by l, in FIG. 3 is equal to thelength in FIG. 4 ofthe projected portion of the three-dimensional curvebetween the points A and P.

In this way the development in FIG. 3 and the projection in FIG. 4 areobtained within desired limits of accuracy. The three-dimensional curveitself can easily be determined from these two curves. If the resultingheight H of the three-dimensional curve is too high it is necessary tostart with a larger initial angle [8 while if H is too small, must bechosen smaller.

The three-dimensional curve gives the shape of the laying arm 3 andtherefore the path which the wire must follow within the laying device.To avoid too sudden a change in direction at the starting angle 5 thelaying arm can include a transfer portion which guides the wiregradually from the axial direction and through the angle #0.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A wire coiling device in which the wire is fed axially of the deviceinto one end of a rotating curved laying arm constituting a guide forthe wire and from the other end of which the wire is delivered forcoiling, the center line of the laying arm deviating initially from thedirection of the axis of rotation by a desired and predetermined angleand thereafter following such a curved path that the radial distance ofthe individual points of the center line from the axis of rotation doesnot depart by more than 0.1r from a three-dimensional curve whichfulfils the conditions:

and

' Ta: Rf. sin 6 2R SlIl 6r $111 a where r is the radial distance of anydesired point P of the three-dimensional curve from the axis ofrotation,

R is the mean radius of the coil of wire,

a is the angle between the tangent at any desired point P on theprojection of the three-dimensional curve on a plane perpendicular tothe axis of rotation and the perpendicular from this point to the axisof rotation,

B is the angle between the axis of rotation and the tangent at anydesired point P to the projection of the threedimensional ounve on aplane parallel to the axis of rotation and tangential to thethree-dimensional curve at the point P,

r, is the radius of curvature at any desired point P of the projectionof the three-dimensional curve on a plane perpendicular to the axis ofrotation, and

r, is the radius of curvature at any desired point P of the projectionof the three-dimensional curve on a plane parallel to the axis ofrotation and tangential to the three-dimensional curve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS351,839 Lenox Nov. 2, 1886 527,722 Edwards June 27, 1899 FOREIGN PATENTS4,801 Great Britain Nov. 25, 1879 994,543 France Aug. 8, 1951

